How Much Do Physical Therapists Make?

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How Much Do Physical Therapists Make?

Looking for physiotherapist salary in a different state in the US? In this article, we update result according to recent job place by different healthcare companies. Different types of physical therapist do make different salary range usually on average between $83,000 to $94,000. An hourly range of salary is between $57. According to CNBC report, this job is in-list “TOP 10 Highest Paying” in the USA after just getting an associate degree.

Different types of a physical therapist like (Pediatric, Orthopedic, practitioner, Acute Care) making the different level of income having a particular experience. According to CBSNEWS, the best job in 2019. We PTCareer.info will update you current information relates to particular data.

A physical therapist is a medical professional who helps patients with physical disabilities in normalizing their lives. The lifestyles of people and professionals around the world have largely deteriorated as we get more and busier. This has led to a massive demand for physical therapists.

Quick Facts about Physical Therapist

Summarize section of salary, for quick overview note down these points

No 1 therapist field relates to salary and job growth perspective, occupational therapy stands No 2 position

Nevada, New Jersey, Alaska, California, and Florida are the top paying states in the USA for PT and PTA

34% job growth expected until the 2026 year

Sports and Pediatric is the highest paying type, some sport or pediatric therapist making above $250,000 annually

Required experience of 10 to 15 years for getting the highest salary

In some states, an assistant is making a higher salary compare to the therapist like NYC, Texas, and Nevada

People are getting bone issues, muscle issues, and skeletal disorders at an increasing rate. The demand for physical therapists has largely increased because of these disorders. As a general trend, demand leads to higher salaries. This is why physical therapy is now a highly lucrative career.

Starting Salary of Physical Therapist (PT)

The salary of an average physical therapist in the US is $86,850 per year, starting is $55,000 to $67,000. However, this figure is subject to large amounts of variations. These variations depend on a number of factors. These factors can include the location of work, number of experience that the professional has and the education of the professional.

Some break down of the factors that contribute to the salary of a physical therapist have been discussed in detail below.

Type of Employer

Type of employer is the foremost factor in estimating salary. After DPT degree, many specialization areas is for you. Here are some socialization or you can say the type of employer;

Cardiovascular & Pulmonary

Clinical Electrophysiology

Oncology

Women’s Health

Geriatrics

Neurology

Orthopedics

Pediatrics

Sports

Geriatrics, Neurology and Cardiovascular type are short in many states in the USA, so you can expect a high salary with quick jobs.

Location

Another factor influence directly on individual salary. In many states of the US, salary is given below the national average standard due to low no of the population, but demand is very high. States like Kansas metropolitan areas are in the list.

On the other hand, in non-metropolitan areas of Kansas the salary given to physical therapist is quite good, but below the national average salary range.

Experience & Degree Level

From associate to Doctoral and then specialization certification will depend on salary. After getting an associated degree in physical therapy, you are eligible to work under the physical therapist as an assistant.

After DPT degree, some specialization certification is conducting various schools in sports, orthopedic ETC, that is helping you for getting the highest salary.

For reaching above $150K, on average 15 years of experience required in a particular area.

Salary by Physical Therapist Type

The job type of a physical therapist depends on the kind of specialization that he or she has and the kind of education. Some types of work can be more demanding than others. This is largely why the average salary of a physical therapist can largely vary depending on the job type.

Some job types that pay different kinds of salaries to physical therapists have been discussed below.

Home Health Care Services

Home health care services are offered autonomously to patients by a single occupational therapist who may be assisted by an OTA. However, this requires physical therapists to have a master’s degree at least. The master’s degree is followed by a license examination and some relevant experience.

The average salary of a home health care service physical therapist is $93,200 per year.

Residential Care Facilities

Those physical therapists working in residential care facilities work largely the same way as home health care nurses. They, therefore, earn a similar amount of wage.

The average education requirement for a residential care nurse is a master’s degree in physical therapy. The average salary of these professionals is $92,000 per year.

State, Local and Private Hospital Nurses

Those physical therapists working in hospitals may either have a bachelor’s degree coupled with a large number of years in the industry or a master’s degree. Some professionals also have a doctorate in physical therapy.

These professionals work on the basis of a fixed number of hours for the facility and earn an average salary of $87,000 per year.

Clinics of Occupational Therapy

These are small settings of physical therapy owned by a private entity. A physical therapist working in a clinic has a bachelor’s degree with an adequate amount of experience. Alternatively, they may also have a master’s degree.

They earn an average salary of $81,000 per year.

Highest Paying state in the US for the Physical Therapist

Geographical differences make a big difference in the salary that a physical therapist can earn. The reason is that a certain skill can be higher in demand in certain places as compared to others. A place which has a higher old-age population will pay more to physical therapists because these professionals are higher in demand.

Furthermore, a state may have a higher demand for one certain kind of professional and therefore a certain type of physical therapist may make a higher wage as compared to others.

Nevada

The desert belt of Nevada offers some of the highest salaries to physical therapists. This can be attributed to the higher tax profile or the higher affluence that is indigenous to Nevada.

They earn an average salary of $102,000 per year.

New Jersey

The waterside state of New Jersey also offers relatively higher wages to physical therapists. This is largely because of the fact that it connects to New York and it has a higher tax.

The average salary of physical therapists in New Jersey is $99,000 per year.

Alaska

The average salary of physical therapists in the state of Alaska is $97,000 per year.

Texas

The average salary of physical therapists in the state of Texas is $95,900 per year.

California

The average salary of physical therapists in the state of Texas is $95,500 per year.

Top State

Average Salary

Hourly Salary

Georgia

$88,667

$48 to $56

Florida

$87,480

$44 to $58

NY

$93,000

$54 to $64

Colorado

$83,000

$52 to $59

OHIO

$81,000

$42 to $53

Kansas

$78,997

$43 to $57

Kentucky

$85,000

$53 to $62

North Carolina

$81,000

$46 to $54

Washington DC

$88,775

$48 to $56

Illinois

$90,040

$50 to $58

Pennsylvania

$82,667

$48 to $56

Tennessee

$81,557

$48 to $56

We display some main states statistics; for particular state information ask us through comment us. We will provide you complete career information about the particular state with growth rate.

Best Paying Cities for Physical Therapists

Various cities in the USA gives a remarkable good salary to the physical therapist, even above national average salary or highest. We gather data from BLS GOV official site, so for more information about any particular city, you can request us.

Metropolitan area

Employment

Employment per thousand jobs

Hourly mean wage

Annual mean wage

Merced, CA

70

0.95

$61.56

$128,040

Hammond, LA

90

2.12

$59.34

$123,430

Morristown, TN

50

1.13

$56.31

$117,110

Victoria, TX

120

3.09

$55.11

$114,620

Longview, TX

70

0.83

$52.39

$108,970

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

1,150

1.19

$52.06

$108,290

Rocky Mount, NC

180

3.30

$52.04

$108,240

Tyler, TX

190

1.88

$52.04

$108,230

Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI

110

1.44

$51.80

$107,740

Ames, IA

60

1.44

$51.73

$107,600

In these cities, some typical type of therapist like traveling and orthopedic is earning above $200K annually.

Salary According to Quintiles

Stats according to Quintiles in different states of US. Make sure only 10% therapist on average making at-least $117,000 per year.

The 90th Percentile

The average salary of the 90th percentile accounts for the salary that is earned by the top 10% of the physical therapists in the US.

The average salary of the top 10% is $117,000 per year at a rate of $56.25 per hour.

The 75th Percentile

The salary earned by the top 25% of the senior most physical therapists in the US is the 75th percentile.

The average salary of the top 25% is $97,000 per year at a rate of $47.04 per hour.

The 50th Percentile

The salary earned by half the professionals in the field is referred to as the 50th percentile.

The average salary earned by the top 50% of the physical therapists is $84,400 per year at the rate of $40.79 per hour

The 25th Percentile

The salary earned by the bottom 25 percent of the physical therapists in the US makes up the 25th percentile.

The approximate salary of these professionals is $74,930 per year at the rate of $34.04 per hour.

The 10th Percentile

The salary earned by the top 10% of the physical therapists is known as the starting salary and is roughly $60,000 per year. This is at the rate of $29 per hour.

Career Outlook and Job Growth

The average growth of physical therapists that have been projected for the next decade is 28%. This figure is considered much higher than the average growth figure for most jobs in the US.

Furthermore, physical therapists normally work in occupational therapy and physical therapy settings. These can be found in hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities.

Private Physical Therapy Jobs

If you are, compare private jobs Vs GOV sector jobs then many therapists making good in the private sector. Although they get many promotional benefits and side-bonus in GOV jobs, still the gap is so high.

Many therapists are running own business (Private Clinic) and making handsome money.

Is there a demand for this career?

I already state earlier that, 34% growth rate is expected in this field until 2016 year. This job is already in-list on many sites (Top Paying and Best healthcare Jobs). Many students shifting their regular study holding a bachelor degree in Biology, Exercise Science, Kinesiology, and other rehabilitation science towards physical therapy degree.

Admission is very competitive in this field due to the demand, as you will experience during the joining process.

What is the job growth for the field?

34% job growth rate is expected in the 2026 year. This expectation is the highest among any other field in the US.

How do I advance in my Physical Therapy career?

As I mentioned above, after getting DPT degree you must get some certification (1. Clinical Electrophysiology, Neurology, Pediatric, Sports) for advanced education in this field. This will also lead through the highest paying in this field.